S T I S RU ® E C G T D U E R L E TM W D O I N N CONSCIOUSNESS-BASED EDUCATION K • • C S O S N E S C I O U S N For stress-free schools and academic excellence Transcendentaltm Meditation in Schools Improving academic achievement Developing inner happiness and confidence Reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and learning difficulties An introduction for educators, parents, government leaders, health professionals, and everyone interested in better quality education www.ConsciousnessBasedEducation.org.uk Telephone: 01394 420 634 ® Why introduce Transcendental Meditation into your school? The alarming rise of classroom stress fuels widespread problems in education, including poor academic achievement, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, school violence, and teacher burnout. To overcome these problems, any successful educational reform effort must include the knowledge and methodologies to dissolve stress and awaken each student’s full potential. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi® Schools in many countries are finding the stress-reducing, non- Founder of Transcendental Meditation and religious Transcendental Meditation programme of Maharishi Consciousness-Based Education Mahesh Yogi® to be an effective solution. Research in education has shown that regular practice of Transcendental Meditation strengthens the cognitive, physiological, and affective foundations of learning, while promoting more healthy lifestyle choices and positive behaviour. TRANSCENDENTAL Transcendental Meditation in the classroom MEDitAtiON CAN be APPLieD TO The Transcendental Meditation programme is easily implemented SOLVE THE into any school without disrupting the existing academic schedule. PROBLems OF: Transcendental Meditation is a simple, natural technique that is practised for 10-15 minutes twice daily sitting comfortably with the eyes • Poor academic closed, as part of the daily routine in a school. Through this practice, achievement the mind naturally settles down to its quietest state – the state of its • Anxiety full potential – while the body gains a unique state of deep rest, which • Depression dissolves stress and fatigue. • Substance abuse Transcendental Meditation is easily learned by children, starting at the age of 10, as well as by teachers and parents. It requires no effort or • School violence concentration. More than five million people of all cultures, religions, • Teacher burnout and educational backgrounds throughout the world have learned Transcendental Meditation over the past 50 years. Transcendental Meditation is the key component of a Consciousness-Based Education programme that can be added to the usual curriculum of study in any school in order to unfold the full potential of brain functioning for every student. Alarming new figures from the Office of National Statistics in the UK show that one in ten youngsters between the ages of five and 16 has a “clinically recognisable” mental disorder. “What I appreciate most when I meditate is the inner calm and deep rest. It makes my mind clearer - and my day so much smoother.” - Coral, Age 17, 7-year meditator 2 Transcendental Meditation, unfolding the students’ full potential Most education emphasises what students study, without developing the qualities that students need for success at school and success in life: the qualities of alertness, intelligence, creative thinking, confidence, inner calm, motivation, integrity, and happiness. These qualities are naturally developed through regular practice of Transcendental Meditation, as the students experience the inner field of their own WASHINGTON, D.C. total potential, and start to live it more and more in daily life. Pioneering research has just been completed Experience shows that as students use more of their potential in daily on the effects of the life, they gain confidence in their abilities. Their thinking, feelings, Transcendental Meditation speech, and behaviour are more helpful for their progress. With programme on attention clearer, calmer thinking, they can more easily solve problems, they deficit hyperactivity make fewer mistakes. The experience in many schools around the disorder (ADHD) at the Chelsea School in Silver world has been that when the majority of students in a school are Spring - a school for practising Transcendental Meditation, the whole school atmosphere children with language- becomes harmonious calm, focused, positive, and safe. based learning difficulties. Transcendental Meditation, an effective and lasting solution Research in education has shown that regular practice of Transcendental Meditation promotes more healthy lifestyle choices and positive behaviour. There have been very encouraging experiences with Transcendental Meditation and children with ADHD and other behavioural difficulties and emotional disorders. Unlike drugs, Transcendental Meditation doesn’t just treat the symptoms; it influences the basic cause of the disorder. Which means it doesn’t just create a temporary effect, but leads to improvement on a permanent basis. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD ) is estimated to be the most common psychosocial disorder in children worldwide, affecting increasing numbers in the UK and almost one in ten children in the USA. “I never thought I could sit quietly for 10 minutes with my eyes closed, but meditating is easy - and fun.” - Derek, Age 12, 3-year meditator 3 Extensive scientific research on Transcendental Meditation in education The unique effectiveness of the practice of Transcendental Meditation for 15 minutes twice a day – the essential component of Consciousness-Based Education – has been scientifically documented over the past 40 years. More than 600 scientific research studies, conducted at over 250 universities and research institutes in 33 countries, verify the profound benefits of Consciousness-Based Education for all aspects of individual life and society. Here are some selected research findings relevant to education: FOR STUDENTS: FOR TEACHERS: • Increased intelligence (IQ), creativity, and • Greater ease and fulfilment in teaching inner happiness • Decreased stress and better health • Decreased stress, anxiety, learning • More energy and creativity difficulties, and behavioural problems • Increased tolerance and appreciation • Natural desire to learn and enjoyment of • Effective, natural technique for relaxation and ‘recharging of batteries’ the learning process • Improved organisation and planning, FOR SCHOOLS improved problem-solving • Settled, positive atmosphere conducive to • Improved attention, and improved memory successful learning • Improved academic achievement • Increased field independence (stable • Increased harmony between students and internal frame of reference) teachers • Higher level of moral reasoning • Benefits for special needs pupils, including those • Decreased alcohol and drug use suffering from autism or learning disabilities Transcendental Meditation enlivens total brain functioning Transcendental Meditation The mind spontaneously Brain functioning becomes is a simple, natural, and and naturally settles down highly orderly and coherent effortless technique that is to a quiet, alert, and expanded – the total brain becomes practised for 10 to 15 minutes state – restful alertness enlivened. Regular practice of twice daily sitting comfortably – while the body enjoys theTranscendental Meditation with the eyes closed, as part of deep, refreshing rest, which technique develops the brain’s the daily routine in a school. dissolves stress and fatigue. total potential. 4 Scientific research on Transcendental Meditation Some selected studies $20 million in government funds to study benefits to health In recent years, the US equivalent of the NHS, the National Institutes of Health, has awarded over $20 million for research on the preventative health benefits of the TM programme. Findings have been published in leading, peer-reviewed scientific journals including The American Journal of Cardiology and the American Heart Association’s Hypertension. Recent research results in education “Reduced Stress, Increased Happiness among Middle School Students” Rita Benn, PhD, Director of Education, Complementary & Alternative Medicine Research Center, University of Michigan Two recent studies found evidence that the practice of Transcendental Meditation positively affects emotional development in early adolescent African-American children in a school setting where its practice is supported by the administration. “Students’ Intelligence and Creativity Improved by Transcendental Meditation” Intelligence (September/October 2001), Vol. 29/5 Research on school children in Taiwan published in the journal Intelligence found significant improvement across a wide range of cognitive, emotional, and perceptual functions. “We found increases in creativity and intelligence that you don’t typically expect to see,” said principal investigator and co-author So Kam Tim. “Many researchers feel that it’s not possible to significantly improve basic cognitive ability once a person reaches adolescence, but our findings challenge that theory.” Decreased blood pressure in students through Transcendental Meditation American Journal of Hypertension, 2004; 17:366-369 “Teens who practised 15 minutes of the Transcendental Meditation programme twice daily lowered their daytime blood pressure over four months and their pressures tended to stay lower,” - Dr Vernon Barnes, PhD, Medical College of Georgia’s Prevention Institution in Augusta, Georgia. For full details of scientific research on Transcendental